California ? One of the more difficult challenges faced by sufferers of Parkinson’s is not the disease itself, but rather the jerky, uncontrollable movements caused by the most common treatment for this devastating neurological disorder.

Now, scientists at the Parkinson’s Institute may have found a surprising, even ironic, treatment to reduce those movements: nicotine.

In a study released today, the scientists report that monkeys treated with nicotine had significantly fewer episodes of the jerky movements, known as dyskinesias, compared to monkeys that did not receive nicotine.

The study appears to be the first to examine nicotine as a treatment for dyskinesia, but it builds on a larger body of research that shows some promise for nicotine’s ability to ease Parkinson’s symptoms and reduce the disease’s progression.